Ride lockers - pain, or no big deal?

tinytinkmom

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May 29, 2007
We’re Disney veterans taking our first trip to Universal during Christmas week. I see that there are several rides that don’t allow purses or backpacks, so you have to put them in a locker. That’s very different for us - is it a noticeable pain, or a non-event? It does look like you can wear a fanny pack on most rides, so I’m wondering if it might be worth sporting one. 😱
 
In general, the free lockers are not a pain- if your bags fit. What size bag do you typically carry?

The only lockers we’ve had problems with are the Hagrid’s Motorbike lockers, and that’s less the lockers and more the cluster headache the layout is. (Two separate areas, people crossing back and forth… it’s a mess.)
 
Was there during Halloween and we figured out heading to the farther back was the way to go. But it was super easy. Even when we stayed past the normal time to ride a ride twice, they were super friendly to open the locker for us. Have a blast!!!
 


We never have a problem with the free ride lockers. We usually do 2, one for our bookbag and one for wands and freestyle cups (just make sure they're empty). After the first day, it'll be a breeze and you'll fall into a routine. As we're walking up DH takes the bag and gets the wands and cups out, DD takes her pass and my pass to open the lockers, we put our stuff in and go to the ride.
 
Make sure you have your ticket with you to open it up. Also don’t bring a big bag. Some areas the bigger the locker the less chance they are free
 
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If you don’t need to carry the world, don’t. Or rent a locker at the front of the park to have that “just in case” stuff available but don’t lug it around all day. I don’t think the ride lockers are a big deal. I just think that if you can travel light then you should try and do that.
 


No big deal!
Don’t worry about the lockers. Give yourselves a few extra minutes the first few times you use them, they really are not a pain. They can be really convenient.

If you want to “see” them before you go check out YouTube.
 
To help with first time worrying about the lockers you can definitely bring a fanny pack for your ID and credit card. Or even more convenient if you are traveling with someone who can wear khakis with the bigger pockets that button close on the side, have them carry those items on the ride while you leave your bag in the locker.
 
I had a panic attack getting off Velocicoaster last weekend. Left the ticket in the locker and then couldn't remember the locker number. Not a fun experience, but the TM's were great.
 
I believe you will have to use them for HRRR, Hulk and Velocicoaster. Those rides have metal detectors. So unless you don’t have any metal (keys, phone, etc) then a fanny pack won’t work. A fanny pack is nice though for everyone to put their stuff in and then put the fanny pack in the locker. Sometimes you get a locker on the top or bottom. Putting everything in the fanny pack makes it easier to retrieve everything.
 
The lockers are not a big deal at all. They are not something you have to worry about. When I go to the parks I use the same crossbody bags that I use in my regular life and I have never had a problem. I can have everything I want to take in the park with me and the bag still fits. Unless you are carrying a giant backpack or diaper bag you should be totally fine.

The serious thrill rides (the ones with metal detectors) don't let you have anything in your pockets, but since I don't go on those, I hold the bag for my friend while she rides them.

I had a panic attack getting off Velocicoaster last weekend. Left the ticket in the locker and then couldn't remember the locker number. Not a fun experience, but the TM's were great.

The TMs are fantastic. At Forbidden Journey, I remembered which section the locker was in, but not the actual exact locker number. I felt so stupid. One of the TMs was able to do some kind of override and open that section of lockers. I found my stuff and all was well.
 
I would call them a nuisance but nothing worse. Last week I as my first time dealing with them and I only needed them for the three with metal detectors but I still ran into a couple of minor issues like forgetting to go back and get my stuff back and using my express pass instead of my AP one time and getting confused by the error I received that it couldn’t find my locker.

Overall, it wasn’t that bad.
 
I see that I differ from the replies that I skimmed. I found them to be a fairly big PITA! At Disney I carry a medium sized backpack. When we took a Universal trip I realized that we couldn't carry the backpack onto a lot of the rides, so I bought an acceptable per their standards waist pack that had a strap to make it a cross body purse for when not riding, carried only the essentials, and was able to skip the lockers this way. The main drawback was that it was December, so we had to either be cold in the morning or carry a sweatshirt all day, since I couldn't put them in the backpack. It worked out for the most part. I wanted a refillable mug there but didn't get it because it would have meant we needed a locker, and IIRC for MIB you couldn't have wands so we still had to get a locker there for my boys wands. Overall I would do the same thing again. Is having to go to lockers before and after most rides the end of the world? No. Is it easier to be able to not do that and just go straight to the line and right to another ride after - heck yes! Kind of like strollers and stroller parking - you have to do it, but when you don't have to do that before and after rides it is so much more freeing!
 
Mostly no. At Disney, I do tend to carry a regular sized back pack w LOTS of stuff (bottles of water, ponchos, snacks, food, daily supplies,you name it, it's in there, we call it the magic bag, or Hermione's bag w the extension charm.) but I have to pare down quite a bit at Universal. The bag will fit flattened in the small lockers, but will need to be squished, so can't be stuffed full. Hubby used fanny pack some days. yeah, at times, seems like a pain to have to go off in different directions from the ride entrance, but not really that big of a deal. . The thrills of the rides are worth it, and stuff would be flying if not secured. We all wore our tickets/room key on lanyards, which are tucked into shirt during ride. Using lanyard made easy access to ticket.
I forgot the locker #s several places, but knew general vicinity. when I scanned my ticket at the wrong locker bay, it would tell me 'your locker is in section whatever. ' and I'd go scan it there. It wont' display the exact number at the wrong spot, but it did direct me to the right area. I didn't ride Velocicoaster, and those are different, so still try and remember locker #. TMs were present to help if need be.. When you scan you ticket, the locker will just open too, so try not to hit anyone on the head. ha! Enjoy the new adventure!
 
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Are the three metal detector rides the only ones you can't have a fanny pack on or are there other ones as well?
 
I don't mind the lockers when crowds aren't too high, but I find them a pain when it's very crowded. We went in the summer of 2019 and it was super crowded. I HATED using the lockers then because it was wall to wall people in a tight space and it was about a million degrees. We went again last Aug and I brought a waist pack. I don't ride Hulk, Rip Ride, or Velocicoaster, so it worked well for me.
 

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